Friday, October 1 1, 1963—THE DETRO IT J EWISH NEW
Jewish Organizations Form
Purely Commentary Major
Committee on Plight of Soviet Jews
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Another Deserved Honor for Dora Ehrlich
While Dora Ehrlich is due for special honors from the Jewish
community, when she'll be accorded recognition for her many
community services at the annual Bar-llan University dinner on
Nov. 26, it is specially heartening to her many friends to learn
that her alma mater—the University of Michigan—will recognize
her gifts by according her a citation.
On Oct. 17, in Hill Auditorium, Mrs. Joseph H. Ehrlich will
be remembered as the U. of M. will recall that, as Dora Ehrlich,
she not only was an honor student, but throughout her life lent
glory to her school, her state, her nation, her faith.
Mrs. Ehrlich has earned all the recognition that is being
given her. We wish her good health so that she may be blessed
with strength to continue the good deeds to which she has
dedicated her life.
Rejected !
Hans Globke
Dr. Hans Globke had hoped to retire to Vevey on Lake
Geneva, in Switzerland, where he had built a villa. But the
townspeople of Vevey made it know that he was not welcome.
Such is the punishment now accorded to the architect of the
inhuman Nuremberg anti-Semitic laws as he prepares to leave the
Adenauer West German Cabinet.
Dr. Globke continues to maintain that he has never been
a member of the Nazi party and he insists that he tried to
reduce tthe harshness of the Nuremberg laws.
Yet, it is a matter of record that he had written those
vicious laws, that he took orders from Hitler and was a callaborator
in the crimes against the Jewish people.
Konrad Adenauer's biggest blunder was to have retained
Globke in his Cabinet. It is now claimed that it will take two
or three men to perform the tasks that were accomplished by
Globke. Indeed, he is an efficient man. Even so, he apparently
was equally efficient in Nuremberg under Hitler. Any person
who takes orders to commit crimes, even if they are for his
own beloved government, will be recorded among the evil and
corrupt. Man's duty is to keep his government and nation
above corruption. Globke contributed towards brutality and
inhumanity. His retirement can call forth only a sigh of relief.
—
the Burschstein of Bialystok
Rosa Raisa
Rosa Raisa thrilled many an audience. She starred in opera,
made her debut here in "The Dybbuk," was notably impressive
as an interpreter of Yiddish songs.
She came from Bialystok and her maiden name was Bursch-
stein. When she no longer was able to star in opera, she turned
to the concert platform, and her Yiddish songs drew the largest
and most appreciative audiences for her. But the final rites
for her were not Jewish!
What a pity that people forget their origin—and perhaps it
is equally pitiful that people are so quickly forgotten: for, how
many, indeed, now remember Rosa Raisa?
—
(Direct JTA Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News)
NEW YORK—Leaders of na-
tional Jewish religious and
community organizations have
decided to set up an emergency
ad hoc committee to deal with
the plight of the Jews in the
Soviet Union.
Announcement of the deci-
sion was made here Tuesday
after a closed door meeting
held Monday at headquarters
of the Synagogue Council of
America in New York.
Participating in the meeting
were representatives of lay and
rabbinical organizations from
the Reform, Orthodox and Con-
servative movements affiliated
with the Council as well as rep-
resentatives of the American
Jewish Committee, American
Jewish Congress, Hillel Foun-
dations, Jewish Labor Com-
mittee, National Community
Relations Advisory C o u n c
Bnai Brith, National Council of
Jewish War Veterans of the
United States and the National
Council of Young Israel.
Rabbi Uri Miller, president
of the Synagogue Council told
the meeting that the council
has "tried everything" in the
last two years to counteract
Soviet Russian efforts to elimin-
ate the USSR's Jewish com-
munity but has met with no
success.
Eighty to 100 of the fore-
most intellectual leaders in
the United States, the vast
majority of them non-Jews,
will gather here Saturday to
consider the situation of the
Jews in the Soviet Union.
The all-day conference, to be
held in the auditorium of the
Carnegie Foundation for inter-
national Peace, has been sum-
moned by U. S. Supreme Court
Justice William 0. Douglas; Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., leader
of the non-violent phase of the
Negro integration movement;
Walter Reuther, president of
the United Automobile Workers
of America and a vice-president
of the AFL - CIO; Norman
T h o m a s. American Socialist
leader; the Rt. Rev. James A.
Pike, Protestant Episcopal
Bishop of California; Herbert
H. Lehman, former U. S. Sena-
tor and ex-Governor of New
York; and Robert Penn Warren,
famous American novelist and
poet.
Acting as individuals, the
seven sponsors of the session
have invited a cross-section of
other American leaders to hear
reports about the situation of
the Jews in the USSR, and to
consider means for relaxing
anti-Jewish practices condoned
by Soviet authorities. Accord-
ing to the sponsors, it is hoped
that the meeting may result
in the acceptance of an action
program upon which those in
attendance would agree.
* *
A Symbol on the Mound
Sandy Koufax
Sandy Koufax has emerged as a symbol for American youth.
The great Dodger pitcher, who has led his team to the highest
honors in baseball, became a leader in the most popular American flourish in New York. There
sport—to be looked up to and to be emulated. What the leaders are many thousands even
among those who no longer
on our sports arenas do is to
read the Yiddish press who un-
indicate to the world that
derstand Yiddish and love the
through athletic competition we
Yiddish tongue and its humor.
not only build up a strong
people, but, as the same time,
The New York Times writer,
create good will in the recogni-
Richard F. Shepard, makes this
tion of the ablest who win be-
observation regarding the non-
cause they have the skill to
English theaters in New York:
emerge the victors. The sports
"Italian and German thea-
arena thus is the traditional
ter have all but vanished
American preference to the
here. Spanish theater, even
battlefield, to strife that can and
with a vast potential audi-
must be avoided among peoples.
ence, is insignificant and the
Sandy Koufax happens to be
Chinese opera that used to
an affiliated Jew who has just
be Chinatown's cultural
been honored by the Bnai Brith,
staple has long since given
who has refrained from playing
way to Chinese movies. But
on the Holy Days, who has a
Yiddish, a language that has
sense of Jewish dignity. We
almost no hope of gaining
have had Jewish athletes of great
new native practitioners, has
Sandy Koufax Acclaimed
merit in the past. Sandy Koufax
remained constant for several
After His First Victory
is a new name in that dis-
years with four shows a
tinguished element. It is good to welcome him into the honor season.
roll of great Jewish athletes because the successes of men like
The fact is that Yiddish has
Koufax encourage other youth to take an interest in and to
, been "constant" in many other
distinguish themselves in sports.
It is equally as vital that our people people should be as 'respects. There is a following
adept in sports as they are in the sciences and in the languages. for the language that stems
A "muscular Judaism," as Dr. Max Nordau called the modern from a deep devotion, and
Jewish Maccabees who take an interest in sports, is important for those who continue to read in
Yiddish and who love to speak
a normal people that aspires to have a share in athletics.
Sandy Koufax thus has made a good contribution to sports it include not only immigrants
and an even better gift to his fellow Jews whom he has given the and sons of immigrants but
encouragement to be as strong physically as they are so often many second generation
Americans.
mentally.
Yet, the Yiddish ranks have
The Dodges had another excellent pitcher in Koufax's fellow-
Jew. Larry Sherry. There are a few others in our ranks who are diminished and continue to di-
good athletes. Perhaps their number now will grow. Ken yirbu minish, the publisher of one of
the two surviving daily Yiddish
—may they, indeed, grow.
*
*
*
newspapers has said that "when
one of our readers dies there
Revival of the Yiddish Theater in New York
A New York Times theatrical critic, writing about plans for is no one to replace him," and
the revival of the Yiddish theater in New York, makes the outside of New York, where
the Yiddish theater has a
comment:
"Logic and statistics may foretell doom in the Yiddish strong appeal, it might be diffi-
theater, but they cannot push this tenacious tongue into the cult to secure a sizable audi-
ence for a Yiddish play.
wings."
Yiddish is so rich in its ex-
There will be four new productions on the Lower East Side
of New York during the approaching season, with Leo Fuchs pressions, its literature, its his-
starring in Jacob Jacobs "My Wife With Conditions" at the torical merits, that its decline
Anderson Yiddish Theater's full-time productions and additional has been a source of very deep
regret for a number of years.
plays to be produced on week-ends.
These are interesting developments and it will be most If the revived theater in New
interesting to watch for the results and to study the responses York will bring some of the
language's glory, it will be a
to the new theatrical appeals.
Thprp___epytainlv is noreason whv _a Yiddish theater cannot blessing in many ways.
—
(Direct JTA Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News)
PARIS—Former French Pre-
mier and Socialist leader Guy
Mollet will raise the question
of the treatment of Soviet
Jewry with Soviet Premier
Khrushchev, whom he is sched-
uled to meet in Moscow at the
end of this month, it was dis-
closed here Wednesday.
Mollet is leaving for Moscow
as the head of a French
Socialist delegation on Oct. 27.
He will confer with the Soviet
Premier and other leading
Soviet officials in Moscow. Be-
cause the French Communist
Party and the Soviet Union are
interested in seeking an agree-
ment with the French Socialists
to form a United leftwing op-
position to President De Gaulle,
the former French Premier
was expected to be in a position
of strength for his talks with
the Soviet officials.
It was understood that the
former French Premier has
long been aware of the plight
of Soviet Jewry and has de-
cided to raise the issue with
Premier Khrushchev just as it
was raised at the Socialist In-
ternational meeting in Amster-
dam last month.
The French leader and his
delegation will have complete
documentation on the question
and are expected to press their
Soviet counterparts for concrete
moves to ease the plight of
Soviet Jewry.
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0 ■ 4. ■ (3.1.1.0.0=. ■
Boris Smolar's
'Between You
... and Me'
(Copyright, 1963,
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
Ecumenical Discussions
Leaders of major American Jewish organizations are watch-
ing with utmost interest the proceedings at the present session
of the Ecumenical Council . . . They see in the discussions signs
which may lead to a new era in the relationship between the
Catholic Church and the Jews . . . As the discussions develop,
two trends are noted: a liberal and a conservative ... The liberal
elements among the more than 2,200 participating Council
Fathers, advocate consideration of representatives submitted by
the American Jewish Committee and the World Jewish Congress
. . . The conservative element is cool to the Jewish representa-
tions . . . A dominant factor will, of course, be the stand of Pope
Paul VI . . While Jewish groups were certain of the attitude
of the late Pope John XXIII, who was outspoken in his friend-
ship to Jews, they are not as yet certain about Pope Paul VI ...
This is because Pope John, when he spoke of the Jews, did not
hesitate to state that he considered them his "brethren" . . •
Pope Paul, however, merely assures his esteem for them and
says that they are "included in his thoughts" . . . At the same
time he goes out of his way to emphasize at the Ecumenical
Council that the Catholic Church sees in the Jewish religion
"omissions, insufficiencies and errors" . . . Whatever side effects
the discussions at the present Council session may have on the
"Jewish question," it seems that basic suggestions ,advanced by
Jewish organizations will definitely not be taken up at this ses-
sion which will adjourn at the end of December . . . However,
they may be taken up at the next session in 1964 .. .
*
*
Optimistic Outlook:
There is good ground to believe that the Ecumenical Coun-
cil will eventually go on record, in one form or another, as con-
demning anti-Semitism . . . But will word come from the Coun-
cil that the popular Christian beliefs about Jews and Judaism
are wrong from a dogmatic point of view? . . Major Jewish
organizations in the United States hope that the Council will
make it clear to the Christian world that it is erroneous to say
and believe that Jews carry the major responsibility for the
crucifixion of Jesus . . . They also hope that the Ecumenical
Council will acknowledge the historic debt of the Catholic Church
to Judaism . . . And, above all, they would like to see anti-Jewish
comment eliminated from Catholic teaching and liturgy . .. The
Ecumenist, a semi-official Catholic organ, expressing the view
of the liberal elements within the Catholic Church, finds the
Jewish requests justified . . . It admits that the New Testament
doctrine on the Jews has been misrepresented by the Church in
certain liturgical formulas • . . "We have drawn a picture of
the Jews which arouses contempt and misrepresent their role in
the Scriptures," the Ecumenist says openly . . . That this picture,
which implants anti-Semitism in the minds of children in the
course of their religious training, must be corrected is clear to
the progressive elements among the participants of the present
Council session . . . It is not so clear to the conservative elements
whose ranks include certain American cardinals .. . Pope Paul
VI himself is looked upon as a progressive, pledged to follow in
the steps of his predecessor, the beloved John XXIII . . . He
has shown that he intends to introduce in the Catholic Church a
wide program of democratization and modernization . . . And
no such program would be complete without evaluating the
Catholic-Jewish relations . . . This explains why Jewish leaders
in the United States are at present optimistic that from the
Ecumenical Council something good will come out for Jews
despite possible resistance of the conservative elements.